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Rules Committee recommends Jaya Padmanabhan to Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, continues remaining appointments
Summary
The Rules Committee voted Jan. 11 to recommend Jaya Padmanabhan for a Society of Professional Journalists‑nominee seat on the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force with a residency waiver and continued the remainder of the task‑force appointments to a later meeting.
The San Francisco Rules Committee on Jan. 11 heard statements from multiple applicants for vacancies on the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force and recommended Jaya Padmanabhan for the seat reserved to the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (with a residency waiver). The committee continued the remaining contested appointments to its next scheduled meeting.
Padmanabhan told the committee she brings journalism and technology experience and said she would work to protect public access under the Sunshine Ordinance, the Brown Act and the California Public Records Act. "If the Rules Committee and the Board of Supervisors see fit to approve my nomination to the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, I am ready and eager to be part of the team that ensures transparency for the citizens and residents of San Francisco," she said.
Committee members heard statements from longtime and prospective task force members including Chris Hyland, Matthew Yankee, Laura Stein, Kai Forsley, Bruce Wolf, Lori Jones Neighbors and David Pilpel. David Pilpel told the committee the task force currently has "over 100 complaints pending," which he called unacceptable, and urged the body to reduce backlog, emphasize education and outreach, and consider limiting anonymous complaints.
During public comment, several callers and organizational representatives urged appointments to fill vacant seats, supported Padmanabhan and Lori Jones Neighbors, and urged filling the seat for a member with a disability. Chair Aaron Peskin said the committee would make an exception for the uncontested seat 4 and recommend Padmanabhan with a residency waiver so the task force can meet more effectively. The motion to recommend Padmanabhan for seat 4 with a residency waiver passed on a unanimous roll call. A subsequent motion to continue the remainder of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force appointments to the next Rules Committee meeting also passed without objection.
The committee's actions restore at least one seat to the task force immediately and set a schedule for considering the remaining contested appointments at a future meeting.
